This invention relates to work implements for grounds maintenance vehicles, and, more particularly, to an apparatus system for mounting a series of work implements alone or in combination with one another on a universally compatible support frame to provide both lifting and hauling capabilities for various brands of utility tractors, lawn and garden tractors and front mowers.
Conventional tractors, riding front mowers and other lawn and garden work vehicles normally provide attachments or work implements such as mower decks, snow plows or snow blowers, rototillers, disks, plows or planting apparatus. Usually, specific brackets and attachment parts as well as uniquely designed work implements are required for each different brand of tractor or front mower since the chassis and arrangement of components on each vehicle is different. With such conventional systems, unusual implements such as scoops and dump buckets are either unavailable or highly expensive because they are made specifically for each different brand of vehicle. When available, changeover between various implements is both time-consuming and difficult and requires many specialized parts.
Particular problems encountered with conventionally known grounds maintenance vehicles include the provision of lifting and hauling capability for heavy loads and objects. Often, an operator must attach a flat or sided trailer to the vehicle and manually load trees or other bulky objects with the help of other persons.
Another problem is the carrying of tools and various pieces of equipment to remote areas of a property simultaneously with the hauling of a load such as a tree for planting. Often, there was no place to include tools other than laying them loose on a trailer or having the tractor operator carry them personally if a large load of dirt, tree or other object was being carried. This caused greater expense for commercial establishments, schools and colleges having large and continuing grounds maintenance and landscaping needs because of the added requirements for additional workmen or additional vehicles.
Yet another problem is the lack of any ability to interchange available implements on front mount riding mowers as well as rear attachment tractors. As above, this created the need to provide specialized implements for each different vehicle brand.